It's not like that
by JolinarJackson
Summary: Owen watches Jack and Ianto and realizes something ...


**It's not like that**

_Word Count: _~900

_Summary: _Owen watches Jack and Ianto and realizes something ...

_Characters: _Owen Harper, Ianto Jones, Jack Harkness

_Pairing: _Jack/Ianto

_Rating: _PG-13

_Spoiler: Reset, Dead Man Walking, A Day In The Death, Adrift_

_Setting: _after _Adrift_

_Warnings: _canon character death

_Author's Note: _Written for whoverse_las and the prompt _Dead Men Tell No Lies_. Inspired by the quote above the story and this entry in the Captain's Blog following _Adrift_: _Seeing Gwen experience it for the first time took me right back to when I first heard that terrible scream. After Gwen had gone home, I just held on to Ianto for a couple of hours, as tightly as I could._

_Disclaimer: _I'm not making money with this fanfic. The tv-show _Torchwood _and the characters appearing within it belong to their producers and creators. Any similarities to living or dead persons are purely coincidental and not intended.

XXX

_Owen: "Come on, even Tosh had more of a life than you used to, and now you're always out on missions, you're shagging Jack and I'm stuck here making coffee."_

_Ianto: "It's not like that, me and Jack."_

_(A Day In The Death)_

It was strange, seeing them like this. Owen was afraid to move, afraid to alert them to his presence, because this was intimate and Owen was sure that no one was supposed to see it.

Jack and Ianto were standing there, in the middle of the main Hub, hugging. Ianto's hands were trailing up and down Jack's back while Jack's face was buried against Ianto's neck, his arms around Ianto's shoulders, holding onto Ianto's suit jacket as if he was afraid to fall. They hadn't even realized that they weren't alone in the Hub, that Owen was standing at the window of the hothouse looking down. He'd wanted to catch their attention as soon as they'd entered by knocking against the glass, had intended to ask how things had gone for Jack with Gwen at Flat Holm, but he'd paused when he'd seen Jack grab Ianto's arm and pull him into the embrace.

By now, Owen's hand was resting on the window, as if he wanted to touch them, and maybe that was true. He missed the warmth of another body close to his since he died. Even when he was hugged, he couldn't feel body heat.

He saw Jack and Ianto swaying a bit, moving to some unheard song, and he ached to be held that way. There was no doubt what he saw. It seemed like Jack and Ianto weren't shagging their way through the Hub after hours like Owen had always suspected. This was affection, comfort ... and love. Owen felt so stupid all of a sudden. All the things he'd said to Ianto over the years, all those petty remarks about Ianto being Jack's part-time shag and bed warmer and substitute for Gwen ... all those spiteful words ... he'd had no idea.

"_It's not like that, me and Jack."_

He remembered those words from a few months ago. He'd scoffed back then, seeing Ianto as a puppy that returned to its owner, even though he kicked it every time it got too close.

Ianto said something and Jack nodded. They moved to the couch, Jack shrugged off his coat and Ianto his jacket. They settled down, Ianto beneath Jack who rested his head on Ianto's chest. Their legs entwined and they shifted their position a few times, but finally, they seemed to have found the perfect fit. Ianto's hand stroked Jack's hair.

Owen waited in the hothouse until they'd retreated to Jack's quarters – hours later – then he left as quietly as possible through the invisible lift.

XXX

The next morning, Owen stopped in the tourist office on his way in. Ianto was standing at the counter, going through the mail. He looked haggard and tired, but he greeted Owen with his usual polite smile.

"You look beat," Owen said.

"Had a rough night."

Owen swallowed his usual sarcastic remark and instead asked, "That whole Flat Holm business with Gwen really got to Jack, didn't it?"

Ianto looked up at him, surprised. "Yes," he answered. "Well ... not so much the fact that Gwen found out, more ..." He shook his head and looked down at the mail. "It's Flat Holm."

Owen nodded. He'd been there only once and he would never forget the dark corridors, the people there crying and screaming, the despair hanging in the air thick enough to choke visitors ... Owen swallowed and shook the memory off. Instead, he pushed the button for the door that led down into the base. "You're good for him, you know," he said casually and stopped just inside the door, blocking the closing mechanism with his foot.

Ianto looked up at him, confused. "What?"

"Jack. You're good for him."

Ianto frowned. "What makes you ..." He bit his lip and ducked his head, obviously embarrassed about the question.

Owen smiled in understanding. "What makes me say that?" he asked.

"You've never been very nice about us, is all."

"Let's just say that death influenced how I see things, puts everything into perspective, and I decided that being honest to the people around me would be an interesting change."

Ianto stared at him as if he wasn't sure if some alien shape shifter had taken on Owen's form.

Owen wasn't ready to get more mushy than he already felt – least of all with Ianto – and used his surprise to make his escape. He took a step back into the corridor. "Take it from a dead man: You may be the best thing that's happened to him in a long time." Ianto was still gaping at him. The door started to close. Owen winked at Ianto. "I will deny to have ever told you that, of course."

Ianto caught himself and seemed to get his quick wit back on track. "What happened to 'being honest'?"

"Well," Owen said with a wink, "looks like I've run out of honesty for now. Gotta save the rest for someone else." He already had someone in mind.

END

05/11


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